Blink and You'll Miss it: Porirua's Costly Matariki

The Taxpayers' Union can reveal that Porirua City Council’s Matariki holiday public event cost ratepayers $200,000. The event ran for just five evenings in July, and consisted of a Matariki-themed animation projected onto the walls of the Te Rauparaha Arena. The animation looped for 3 hours a day, from 6 pm to 9 pm, working out at 15 hours total display time.

According to a Local Government Official Information Act request, the total cost for this project included $70,174 for design and video production, $8,100 on advertising, and $114,940 on "technical projection equipment and services.”

Reacting to this, Oliver Bryan, Investigations Coordinator at the Taxpayers’ Union, commented, “Given the significant investment poured into this project, I’d have expected at least a popcorn stand for the grand premiere. Any responsible council would likely aim for a longer exhibition or, at the very least, provide an extended online showcase post-event. But in what can only be described as blatant wastefulness, the council briefly showcased it and then hastily withdrew it.”

”Here's the real shocker: it's hard to fathom that this is the same council that audaciously approved a 10% rate hike earlier this year. They are now spending what amounts to 58 years of an average ratepayer's contributions on just 15 hours of display! It is a disgrace."

“The city council needs to reflect, reassess their priorities, and stop passing on costs for their extravagance onto struggling local kiwis.”